I want to take the opportunity today to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season. I hope you all get to spend time with those you love during the holidays because this time of year is meant to be shared with those you treasure. In this fast-paced world we live in today, finding time to spend with family and loved ones is always difficult. However, with the onset of the holiday season, loved ones seem to be drawn together like small metal shavings to a magnet. It’s an important and sacred time for most people and is meant to revolve around heart-felt beliefs and family. I’m very grateful that I have joy in my heart and family in my life this time of year.

However, as wonderful as the holiday season is for most of us, I also know there are some for whom the season brings great pain. My heart goes out to those of you who will be spending the holidays separated from your loved ones or those with a heavy heart this year. It may be that you lost a loved one this year, and this will be your first Christmas without him or her. It may be that you were recently divorced, and this year will be your first as a fractured family. It may be that you or a loved one is in a combat zone somewhere this year and won’t be home for the holidays. Regardless of what your personal situation is this season, good or bad, I suggest you focus on what you have and not on what you don’t have. With that said, and with great sincerity regardless of the circumstances that surround you today, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season.